


untitled coffee shop au

by Snapbaeks



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2019-02-08 11:11:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12863262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snapbaeks/pseuds/Snapbaeks
Summary: “There’s only one plug in this entire coffee shop and you’re sitting right in front of it and you’re not even using it, and my laptop is about to die in the middle of this online exam I’m taking, so whatever I don’t care how intimidatingly attractive you are I’m sitting down at your table to plug my shit in.” AU





	untitled coffee shop au

It’s really just not his day, Junmyeon thinks as he walks into his favorite coffee shop. Coffee Cozy, as the name suggests, is a quiet, cozy establishment just off campus and it’s Junmyeon’s favorite place to come when he needs to focus. He loves it here because it’s always quiet, the atmosphere ideal for a day of reading and studying; and most importantly, his usual seat, an oversized brown leather chair near the only outlet, is always open for him. This morning, however, Coffee Cozy is anything but quiet, and Junmyeon curses under his breath when he sees someone sitting in his favorite chair. Most of the seats are full, he notes, as he scans the small café, but he finds one, tucked in the corner. Hopefully no one snatches it while he’s placing his order.

“Junmyeon!” says the boy behind the counter. “The usual?” Jongdae, a third-year music student, has been working here since Junmyeon stumbled upon this place nearly three years ago and Junmyeon has grown to consider him a friend.

“Yeah, but put it in the biggest cup you’ve got, I’m probably going to be here for a while.” Junmyeon reaches into his back pocket, fishing out his wallet and handing his credit card to Jongdae.

“Lots of studying to do?” Jongdae punches a few buttons on the register and hands Junmyeon's card back to him, then grabs an oversized, purple mug from the rack behind the counter. There's a cartoon drawing of an owl wearing glasses and sporting a mustache on one side.

“Actually, I’ve got an online econ exam and Baekhyun has his girlfriend over. There’s no way in hell I’ll be getting anything done at the apartment." Junmyeon winces at a particularly sharp burst of laughter from a table of college girls near the window. "Although, it’s not really much quieter here today. I’ve never seen this place so busy.”

“Yeah, the owner is hoping to draw a younger crowd. Had us hang a bunch of flyers around campus. 75% off this weekend for college students.” Jongdae busies himself with assembling Junmyeon's drink, a house coffee with a double shot of espresso and a shot of hazelnut syrup, and Junmyeon has to speak up to be heard over the sound of the coffee grinder.

"75%? Hell of a discount."

"I thought it was a little steep, myself, but it's hard to compete with all the cafes that are actually on campus. I guess he wanted to give them a little incentive to walk all the way out here."

“Fair enough,” Junmyeon says, stepping out of the way of a young couple who have come to check out the display of pastries and baked goods. The cafe is a bit of a walk from the campus dorms, but Junmyeon lives in a small apartment off-campus with his best friend just around the corner. He's always liked that the college crowd was never drawn to this place - he thought of it as a kind of best kept secret and he's not exactly keen on the idea of sharing that secret with the entire population of university students. "That's great for you guys, but I'm definitely going to miss the peace and quiet."

“I'm sure it'll die down again once there's no discount." Jongdae hands Junmyeon his mug of steaming coffee with a smile. "Good luck on your exam, Junmyeon.”

“Thanks.”

Junmyeon is pleased to see that the seat in the corner is still unoccupied, and he makes his way over, glancing in the direction of his favorite chair. The boy sitting there doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere soon, his face buried in his book. He’s very attractive, Junmyeon notices, a thin gray tank draped loosely over his lean frame, and tight black pants clinging to his muscled thighs. Junmyeon catches a glimpse of colorful ink on the boy’s ribcage and tries not to stare. 

If the boy weren’t so damn hot, Junmyeon might ask to share the table with him, but unfortunately the boy is hot, with his tanned skin and full lips and pink hair peeking out from beneath his beanie, and Junmyeon has always been a bit of a blubbering fool around people he's attracted to. Thankfully, Junmyeon charged his laptop before bed last night, so he shouldn’t need the plug.

He sits down in the crushed velvet chair, pulling his laptop from his bag and setting it on the table. He flips it open and powers it up, blowing on his coffee to cool it as he waits. He logs into the university’s student portal and opens his email, clicking the link from his professor and waiting as the exam loads.

He feels good about this test. He’d studied well and slept well and Baekhyun had even quizzed him on business cycles and economic growth before heading out for Karaoke with his girlfriend. He takes a small, slightly scalding sip of his coffee and gets to work.

Junmyeon answers each question easily, pleased at how well he was able to retain what he’d studied and he thinks he might actually breeze right through this exam. He’s in the middle of reading a question on endogenous growth theory when a window pops up warning him that his laptop is about to die. He panics, looking up to see that the boy is still seated at the table near the outlet. Shit. The last thing he wants to do is initiate a conversation with the hottest guy he’s ever laid eyes on, but if his laptop dies now, in the middle of his exam, he doesn’t know if he’ll be able to retake it. Fuck. He doesn’t really have a choice.

He quickly gathers his things and rushes over to the table by the window, throwing his bag onto the chair across from the boy to dig out his charger. The boy looks up with surprise. “I’m really, really sorry to bother you, but i’m in the middle of something kind of important and my laptop is about to die, and this is the only outlet in here and I kind of need it.”

The boy’s startled expression morphs into a gentle smile and he nods. “Not a problem.”

Junmyeon frantically plugs the cord into the outlet and connects it to his laptop just as the automatic shut-off timer reaches zero and he lets out a sigh of relief when the little charging icon pops up in the corner of his screen. “I’m sorry,” he says, embarrassed at how breathless he sounds. “Thank you. I thought I’d charged my laptop before bed, but I guess I didn’t. I really didn’t mean-”

“It’s fine,” the boy interrupts. He’s still smiling at Junmyeon and now that Junmyeon isn’t distracted by the crisis of a dying laptop, it hits him just how handsome this stranger is. He’s got one of those smiles that makes you want to smile too, even if there’s nothing to really smile about, and his eyes are so soft and warm behind the thick black frames of his glasses.

“Thanks. I won’t bother you.”

“It’s really no bother.” The boy’s eyes linger on Junmyeon for a moment, then he looks back down at his book, running his finger along his bottom lip before drawing it between his teeth.

Junmyeon stares for what is probably too long to be socially acceptable as the pink-haired boy chews on his lip, only looking away when the boy glances up at him over his glasses. Junmyeon’s cheeks flush and he turns his attention back to his exam.

He answers a few more questions easily enough, but he can feel a set of eyes on him and it’s distracting. He chances a glance at the boy across from him and catches him staring. The boy flashes a bright smile at Junmyeon, who flushes and quickly looks back down at his laptop. He forces himself to focus on the task at hand and it’s not long before he’s zipping through the multiple choice questions again with ease.

“Whatcha working on?” Junmyeon jumps at the sudden question and the boy lets out an abrupt laugh. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Junmyeon’s cheeks burn from embarrassment and he keeps his eyes glued to his screen.

“Well?” The boy asks and Junmyeon glances up at him. His head is cocked to one side and there’s an amused smile on his lips.

“Sorry.” Junmyeon says, “taking a test.” He doesn’t mean to be rude, but he feels frazzled and he really should focus.

“Shit, sorry. My bad.”

The second half of the exam proves to be much harder than the first, and Junmyeon has to wrack his brain to remember all of the terms and definitions he’d studied and he’s starting to think that maybe he didn’t know the material as well as he thought he had.

The sound of a chair scraping across the floor momentarily grabs Junmyeon’s attention and he looks up to see the boy getting up. He must be leaving. Maybe now Junmyeon can finish this exam without the distraction of The World’s Hottest Guy sitting directly across from him. His relief is short-lived, though, as the boy returns with a fresh mug of what smells like hot cocoa a few moments later.

Hot guy or not, Junmyeon really wants to finish this exam. His butt is starting to go numb and his eyes are tired from staring at his screen, and so he forces himself to power through.

By the time he’s finished, his coffee has gone cold and he feels the dull beginnings of a headache throbbing behind his eyes. He removes his glasses, pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes and rubbing until tiny white spots appear behind his eyelids. He leans back in his chair and heaves a heavy sigh.

“Rough exam?” The boy across from him has put his book down and is smiling at Junmyeon, his chin resting in his upturned palm.

“Economics,” Junmyeon offers, placing his glasses back on his face. He blinks a few times to clear the spots from his vision.

“Ouch, that sucks.” The boy’s nose wrinkles. Adorable.

“It’s not so bad. Sometimes it’s hard to keep all of the terms and definitions straight, but I’ve always found this stuff fascinating.” He closes his laptop and sits forward in his chair, resting his elbows on the table. His mother would scold him for being impolite.

“This stuff?”

“You know,” he gestures vaguely with both hands. “Business-y stuff.”

The boy laughs with his whole body, his shoulders shaking and his head thrown back and Junmyeon thinks what he’d said isn’t nearly funny enough to warrant a reaction like that. It’s cute, though, the way the boy’s mouth opens wide and his eyes squeeze into nothing.

“I’m Jongin,” the boy says when his laughter dies down. He extends his arm across the table and Junmyeon shakes his offered hand. His grip is firm, but his hand is soft and warm.

"Junmyeon."

"It's nice to meet you, Junmyeon." Jongin is still holding onto Junmyeon's hand and he's smiling so warmly and Junmyeon can feel the beginnings of a blush creeping up his neck and into his face. He retracts his hand.

"Thanks again." Junmyeon says, looking down at the table, willing the heat from his cheeks. He picks at the transformers sticker on his laptop where it’s peeling up at the corner. Silence settles between them and he can still feel Jongin’s eyes on him and it makes him feel embarrassed. He’s not used to people paying him any attention - certainly not anyone as attractive as Jongin. He chances another glance and Jongin is studying him, his eyes narrowed and a small smile on his lips. His lips are full and pink and glistening and suddenly Junmyeon’s mouth is dry. He takes a sip from his mug and makes a face. It’s gone cold. It’s funny, he thinks, he loves iced coffee, but if his once warm coffee grows cold he finds it disgusting. 

The prospect of holding a conversation with Jongin makes Junmyeon antsy, a ball of nervous energy hovering somewhere in his chest, but he thinks maybe the silence is worse. At least if they're engaged in conversation he can distract himself from the fact that Jongin seems to be looking through him.

He clears his throat. "What are you studying?"

"Literature." Jongin's smile goes lopsided and Junmyeon's heart somersaults in his chest. "It's not as practical as Business, and don't ask me what I plan to do with my degree once I graduate, because I really have no idea. I just really like books." He shrugs and the strap of his tanktop slips off his shoulder. Junmyeon swallows thickly.

There are words on the tip of his tongue, but he can't quite get them to come out. "Your shirt," he finally squeaks out, gesturing to his own shoulder. Jongin quirks his head to one side, clearly amused. He makes no attempt to replace the offending fabric.

If the ground opened up and swallowed Junmyeon whole right now, he'd thank it. Jongin has him flustered and it's making his body react independent from his thoughts. He doesn't like feeling like he's not in control.

Jongin's phone buzzes on the table and he frowns at it, pushing out his plump bottom lip and crinkling his nose. Junmyeon wants to cry. "I'm sorry, do you mind if I answer this? It's my roommate." Junmyeon shakes his head. "Thanks."

"Sehun, what's up?" Jongin runs his pointer finger over his bottom lip as he listens, pushing it between his teeth and chewing on it. It's his second time doing it in the time they've been sitting together and Junmyeon wonders if it's some sort of unconscious habit. It's adorable whatever it is. "Right now?" He asks the person on the other end of the phone - his roommate, apparently. "Where are you?" He looks at Junmyeon mouthing a sorry. "Okay, fine." He says after a few seconds. "I'll meet you there."

He sets his phone back down on the table and picks his bag up off the floor. "Sorry to cut things short," he says, stuffing his book and his phone inside his bag. "I have to go." He stands up, slinging his bag over his shoulder and picking up his trash. "It was nice to meet you, Junmyeon. I'll see you around." He flashes another smile and he's on his way out the door, dropping his empty paper cup in the trashcan on his way out, before Junmyeon can manage a response.  
__________

Baekhyun and Suzy are on the couch playing Mario Kart when Junmyeon gets back to the apartment. There is an empty pizza box on the coffee table and   
__________

"Mind if I sit here?"

The voice is immediately familiar to Junmyeon and he feels relief when he looks up from his Econ textbook to see Jongin standing there. He's holding a hot cocoa and what appears to be a chocolate chip muffin. His ratty canvas bag is slung over one shoulder. There's no beanie today and his cotton-candy hair looks so soft and shiny that Junmyeon wants to reach out and fluff it. He's wearing a thin tank again, but he's got a cardigan over it that's slipping off his shoulder, and Junmyeon glimpses a sliver of tanned shoulder.

Junmyeon doesn't realize how long he's been staring until Jongin clears his throat, raising one eyebrow. "Well?"

"Oh shit, sorry." Junmyeon moves his bag onto the floor next to him to make room for Jongin and his things. "Please, sit."

Jongin lifts his bag off his shoulder and Junmyeon catches a glimpse of smooth skin as his shirt rides up. He's got a tattoo on his hip, too, great. "I haven't seen you here all week," Jongin says when he takes the seat across from Junmyeon.

"That's funny. I've been here every single day." It's not like Junmyeon has been coming to the cafe every day just in the hopes that he'd run into Jongin again, but he's certainly happy to see him now.

Jongin beams, showing off all his pretty white teeth. "Bad timing, then, I guess."

"I guess so."

Jongin pulls a large leather-bound journal and a pencil case from his bag, placing them on the table in front of him and Junmyeon goes back to poring over his econ textbook.

After a few minutes, he glances up at Jongin. His glasses are slipping down his nose and he's chewing on his lip again as he draws. It looks like some kind of comic, but Junmyeon doesn't look further, allowing Jongin his privacy. If Jongin wanted him to see what he was working on, he'd show it to him. He looks back down at his textbook, but he can't concentrate. His eyes scan the page but nothing sticks. By the time he reaches the end of a sentence he forgets how the sentence even began. He looks back up to see Jongin studying him, smiling when Junmyeon catches him. Junmyeon flushes.

"Wanna see what I'm working on?" Junmyeon nods and Jongin looks like an excited puppy with the way his eyes light up. He turns the notebook toward Junmyeon, pointing to the first panel with his pen. "This is Kai." He points to small boy with big, pouty lips and sleepy, droopy eyes and Junmyeon thinks it almost looks like a cartoon version of Jongin himself.

"He looks like you." Junmyeon says. "He's so cute."

"Yeah," Jongin laughs. "I guess he's kind of supposed to be like some kid version of me." He points to the next panel, where there are three little dogs - little curly poodles. "Monggu, Jjanggu, and Jjangah. They talk."

 

"This is really good, Jongin. You draw well."

"Thanks. It's for my niece." blah blah blah more stuff here my brain doesn't work righ tnow booo.

stuff stuff stuff sutff

"So, Junmyeon," Jongin leans back in his chair, stretching his legs out in front of him. His foot brushes the inside of Junmyeon's calf. "What do you get into?" He gestures toward Junmyeon's book "besides studying all that boring stuff."

"Not much, honestly. I really do study a lot. I hang out with my roommate and his girlfriend sometimes. They're good people." He shifts awkwardly in his seat. He's never felt entirely comfortable talking about himself. It's not that he's insecure, but he feels kind of boring sometimes. He doesn't want to bore Jongin. "I play the piano, too."

"Really? That's awesome."

"I guess. I just have this old keyboard in my room. I play for a little bit most nights. With headphones of course."

"Of course."

"I don't know that's pretty much it. I'm not a very interesting person."

"You never go out?"

"Nah, I don't really have time for drinking and partying with all my schoolwork. Anyway, it's not really my scene."


End file.
